FEATURES AND EVENTS
THE BEACON
Sharing is Caring 2019: KAUST supports neighboring communities during Ramadan Sharing is Caring is an annual KAUST Social Responsibility program that enables the University's community to give back to its neighbors in the spirit of the season of Ramadan. The program consists of two elements: Ramadan Food Pantry and Eid Gifts. This year’s Sharing is Caring Food Pantry assembly took place in a new venue—the Community Hub in KAUST's Discovery Square. In approximately three hours, 128 volunteers constructed and filled 200 boxes in a smooth-running assembly line. Each food hamper contained a range of 29 healthy and seasonal food items to assist families in planning their Ramadan menus. The event was kick-started by the early arrival of KAUST School teacher Caitlin McQuaid and her team of dynamic and dedicated Grade 5 students. The students got to work distributing food items to packing stations so that when the first wave of volunteers arrived for
36
their session at 4:00 p.m., they could begin promptly. With volunteers arriving at hourly intervals for their pre-arranged slots, the project finished smoothly and efficiently. Volunteers also wrote Ramadan greeting cards to their neighbors in Thuwal that accompanied the food hampers. This year, a total of 1,300 Ramadan food boxes were distributed along with the greeting cards and vacuum-packed boxes of fresh meat to families in Thuwal with assistance from the Thuwal Albir Society. After obtaining feedback from Thuwal community families in 2018, Social Responsibility specifically chose the content of food boxes, customizing them to families’ preferences and needs. This also included a nutritional component, with families requesting more protein-based foods in the boxes. Using a specially designed app, families ordered specific quantities
and cuts of meat according to the amount in kilograms allotted to them based on family size. The University then paid suppliers for meat, and families picked up their meat at a designated location in Thuwal. At the hamper collection venue, Thuwal community members wrote their own greeting cards for KAUST, and these were later displayed in the seasonal Ramadan Lounge located in KAUST's Harbor Walk area. “The feedback loop from families was important for us to meet their needs,” said Maha Aldubayan, manager of Social Responsibility, who is also in charge of the Sharing is Caring program. “Through the app, we utilized new tools to support families and ensure correct and nutritious foods were easily accessible to them. We continue to gather feedback to make sure our neighboring communities are best supplied through our programs next year.”